柳田國男的南島論述：以臺灣和沖繩為主

Yanagita Kunio’s Discourse on the Southern Islands: Focusing on Taiwan and Okinawa

本文以柳田國男在1917年的臺灣旅行、1920年代擔任國際聯盟委任統治委員的經歷，以及戰後沖繩觀的變化為線索，考察其殖民統治觀與南島論述的特徵。本文指出，柳田國男在戰前僅將沖繩視為日本眾多地方之一，然而日本帝國戰敗後，柳田傾注晚年餘力建構日本人是稻作農耕民族的意象，試圖印證沖繩與本島的文化同質性，藉此提高沖繩的日本文化史地位。此舉有批判戰後日本政府在沖繩問題上之失策的意味。柳田曾於訪臺時深入日月潭、埔里社，視察蕃人公學校。他擔任國聯委任統治委員時，指出殖民者的同化政策所帶來的弊端，並提議從文化與經濟的保障著手，提升原住民福祉。柳田強調，同化教育對原住民菁英帶來身分認同的混亂，建議幫助原住民持續使用母語與保障經濟生活，期待原住民在未來享有與世界其他自由公民相同的生活。從山人論到海上之路研究，柳田皆試圖建構一種去中央化的文化史敘事。在柳田的殖民統治觀中，母語象徵著族群的傳統，努力文明化則可獲得族群的自由。戰後柳田透過建構日琉同祖論之傳統，迂迴地訴求日本之自由，並在文教政策上維護傳統、期許邁向自由。柳田這些作為具有「自由保守」的政治思想特徵，在文教政策上的多元主義論述，直至今日也尚有討論的價值。

This paper examines the evolution of Yanagita Kunio’s views on colonial rule and his discourse on the Southern Islands, using his 1917 trip to Taiwan, his participation in the League of Nations Mandates Commission in the early 1920s, and his post-war writings on Okinawa as reference points. It argues that, prior to World War II, Yanagita regarded Okinawa merely as a regional locality within Japan. However, in the aftermath of Japan’s defeat, he devoted his later years to constructing the image of the Japanese as a ricecultivating people, attempting to validate the cultural homogeneity between Okinawa and the Japanese mainland. This move elevated Okinawa’s position within the broader narrative of Japanese cultural history, and implicitly criticized the post-war government’s mishandling of the Okinawa issue.
During his visit to Taiwan in 1917, Yanagita inspected Indigenous communities under the guidance of colonial bureaucrats and visited the newly established Musha Indigenous School. While serving on the League of Nations Mandates Commission, he criticized the limitations of assimilationist policies and advocated for enhancing the welfare of Indigenous peoples through both cultural and economic protections. Yanagita highlighted the identity confusion caused by assimilationist education among Indigenous elites, and supported preserving Indigenous languages and ensuring stable economic livelihoods. He envisioned a path to civilization that would enable Indigenous peoples to attain a standard of living comparable to that of free citizens around the world.
From his early theory of the“Yamabito”(山人) to his later research on the“The Sea Road”(海上の), Yanagita pursued a decentralized cultural-historical narrative. In his view on colonial governance, the mother tongue symbolized ethnic heritage, and the process of civilization could lead to the liberation of the ethnic group. His efforts to construct a shared ancestral narrative can be seen as an indirect appeal for Japan’s own cultural autonomy in preserving traditions. His pluralistic discourse on cultural and educational policies, which are characterized by“liberal-conservative”political thought is still worth discussing today.